Green Bay has done it yet again. On top of winning the NFC North, the Packers once again have the bye in the NFL playoffs. The Packers did it while knocking the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs on Sunday Night Football.
While the Vikings were without Kirk Cousins, the Packers still had a dominant game on both sides of the ball. With the number one seed cliched, this will probably be the last time we see Rodgers until the Playoffs. With that, let’s look at the three things we learned from the Packer’s 37-10 win over the Vikings.
Having the NFC go through Lambeau means Everything
With the Packers winning tonight against the Vikings, they now have the one seed in the NFC. Obviously, any NFL team having a home-field advantage in the playoffs is ideal. But this year, it’s especially important for the Packers. This year the contenders in the NFC are the LA Rams, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Dallas, and San Francisco. What do they all have in common? They are all warm-weather cities. It’s going to take a perfect game from any of those teams to come into Lambeau and even compete with a Packers team firing at all gears.
However, a weird stat from this Packers season relates to their home games versus on the road. In eight road games this year, the Packers have only won one game by over 8 points (At Chicago). But at home, the Packers have won every game by at least 7 except for one (Cleveland on Christmas Day). Green Bay doesn’t just win at home, they destroy, winning by an average of 14 points per game.
Jones and Dillon are the Perfect Cold-Weather Duo
Since 1980, no Packers running duo has had 1,000 scrimmage yards individually. That changed today with Dillon eclipsing a thousand markers for the first time in his career. While Dillon doesn’t have the explosiveness of other running backs, he may just be the best power back in the NFL. The Packers running back even had two touchdowns against the Vikings tonight.
Combine that with Jones who proves he doesn’t need 20 carriers to have a great day. He has been getting pseudo carriers in the way of screen passes outside all season. Each running back has a different goal to succeed.
With Jones, get him into space as soon as quickly as possible, then let him go to work. For Dillon, use him against tired defenses in the 2nd half and just keep going to him down the middle. Combine that with 250-300 yards from Aaron Rodgers, and the Packers offense is unbeatable.
Speaking of Aaron…
Rodgers is the MVP, Again
The Packers are going to have a bye week in the playoffs for the third straight year. That is absolutely unreal. A Lot of credit of course goes to head coach Matt LeFleur. But what Aaron Rodgers has done yet again is outstanding.
After an… interesting offseason, Rodgers overcame all of that including a season opener dud in New Orleans to win 13 of the last 15 games. He’s only thrown two interceptions in the last 15 games, which even for Rodgers’ standards is amazing. He and the Packers put that on national TV tonight against the Vikings.
And he’s done all of this with a rotating carousel of an offensive line and multiple defensive stars out all year.
This upcoming offseason will decide the future of this franchise. But for now, let’s R-E-L-A-X, and enjoy this moment. Because you never know you’re in the good ol’ times until they’re gone.
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